Engineering Interview Tips?

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Most important thing to remember is be yourself.

Try to sound confident even if you are nervous (practice being interviewed by one of your teachers), take time to think when answering questions, don't talk to much, don't bull$hit as experienced engineers have finely honed bull$hit detection radar that works even over the phone, don't be afraid to ask questions but don't interupt, don't sell yourself or your qualities too cheaply, try to put a positive slant on any of your weaknesses, research the company, ask lots of questions as you have here and you will be fine.

They will be looking for not the brightest or the highest grade scorer but someone with initiative, get up and go, common sense, can think logically if even they don't know all the answers, enjoys new challenges, not afraid to say 'I don't know or I need some help with this', a hard worker prepared to put in extra effort, has attention to detail so they can grow and develop you into the best engineer for their business.

As mentioned relax and enjoy the experience

You are local to the company so you already have an advantage, run with it, good luck and report back.

[RedBaron]

Thanks for the advice everyone! My interview is tomorrow, which is a couple of hours after my last final exam. I checked out Glassdoor and people did post some information. It sounds like they just go over your resume with you and ask you basic HR interview questions. I will update this thread right after the interview.

[Bill Douglas]

Big day.

Good luck for both.




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[mjohnson]

We always finish our interviews for engineers with "How many ways can you answer this question: Why are manhole covers round?".

Checks for ability to BS and to see if they are self-aware enough to recognize their own BS.

[sammyg2]

I seriously doubt they'll ask any in-depth engineering questions.
They'll likely ask more general questions about your education, your experience, you interests, accomplishments, and projects you've worked on.
They'll probably ask general questions and expect you to elaborate.
That's how I do it.

[mattdavis11]

That's a simple question with just one no BS answer, it's so the damned lid will squash your toes or fingers. Doesn't have a damned thing to do with the circular piping below.

[astrochex]

Practice talking about what you want to say about yourself and the answers you think you may need to provide.

I recently went to an interview workshop and that was a key point. Practice will give you more confidence for the interview.

Good luck.

[RedBaron]

I forgot to update this. They ended up bumping the interview up an hour early because they wanted to allot an extra 15 minutes of time for the interview. Everything went well thanks to all of your help! I got asked about five basic HR questions (Why did you choose Electrical Engineering, name a time when a peer had a different way to solve a problem and how you handled it, etc). They then asked me if I had any questions. I asked a few relevant questions about the company and the various departments. They said they would contact me in about a month. I will be sure to update this thread and let everyone know what the result is!